Once you have heard a telltale cough or sneeze, you know what you are in for. Sore throats, runny noses and other cold symptoms await. With hundreds of viruses floating around that can cause a cold, it makes sense that you want to know how to manage your child's cold before the season really starts.
Stay Calm
For most healthy children, a cold is not dangerous. Most colds will go away in the span of a few days, even without treatment. An exception is made for newborns and children who may have compromised immune systems.
Children can have multiple colds per year to no detriment to their overall health. This is especially the case between September and March - when cold season runs rampant.
Know the First Signs of a Cold
Children's cold signs typically begin with an overall sick feeling. The symptoms include a runny nose, sneezing, exhaustion, sore throat and a cough. Postnasal drip is common in the later stages of a cold, thanks to the buildup of mucus. Some children experience other side effects of a cold, including sinus issues, ear issues, throwing up and diarrhea.
Understand Preventative Measures
If one child has a cold, it does not mean others in your house will necessarily catch it. You can take steps to prevent the spread of a cold or cough. Reinforcing the need to keep hands clean is one way to defend against an outbreak in your home.
You can also encourage the use of tissues for nose blowing in addition to using the crook of their elbow to cover the mouth during a sneeze. Coughing into the elbow is also helpful.
Doctors don't advise giving cough medicines, like cough suppressants and decongestants, to children under the age of four. Coughing is actually a healthy response to the cold because it helps eliminate the virus from the body.
Seek to Remedy a Sore Throat
Sore throats can be especially difficult for children to deal with, especially because the pain can feel more intense for them. Honey may be a good deterrent for a sore throat in children as long as they are older than one year. Many doctors may recommend honey or tea with honey rather than cough drops, which may pose a choking hazard for children.
Encourage Hydration
Staying hydrated with fluids, especially water, is crucial during a cold. Not only is it good for the healing process, but it may also thin mucus. Children may be more likely to drink juice than water, but make sure to look out for sugar content. Children may also benefit from drinks with higher levels of vitamin C.
If your child is not hungry, ensure that they still get the nutrition needed. Soup or broth is a fantastic way to encourage this.
Moisturize the Air Inside
Dry air inside your child's room during sleep time can deter healing. A humidifier will moisten the air and encourage the healing process. It can also soothe the throat, which helps to relieve itchiness and soreness during sleep. Humidifiers are also beneficial for allergies.
Call the Doctor When Necessary
If you notice a worsening cough that does not get better over time, it is important that you talk to your child's pediatrician. Vomiting, shaking, fever and coughing that seems to cause distress should be noted. These could actually be signs of the flu, not a cold. You should also call the doctor if your child has a long-term health condition, like asthma or diabetes, already.
Are you still searching for answers to your questions about managing your child's cough or cold? Hot Springs Pediatric Clinic
is here to help you.
Children will go through a series of mental, physical and emotional changes before they become teenagers and adults. These changes should be monitored and recorded during well-visit exams.
The exams are meant to keep children healthy while addressing any specific medical concerns they may have. There are a number of advantages that come along with taking your children to the doctor's office for these exams on a routine basis.
1. Stay Up to Date With Different Immunizations
Keeping your children up to date with immunizations is important because the immunizations work to keep them healthy while protecting them for serious illnesses and medical conditions. Your children will need to get a series of immunizations at different times throughout their life, starting from the day they are first born.
Some of these immunizations include vaccines for Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, polio and Rotavirus. The pediatrician will let you know what age is best for the children to receive these and other essential vaccines.
2. Check on Your Children's Vision and Hearing
As your children start to get older, it may be easier for you to notice certain changes. For example, you may have a feeling that some of your children are struggling with their ability to see or hear. If you have these kinds of concerns, a well-child exam could help you address the concerns.
Each child would need to participate in a vision screening that helps the pediatrician identify certain issues that may be apparent. If a child does not do well during the vision screening, the pediatrician may recommend taking the child to see an eye doctor who specializes in caring for those with vision impairments.
Similar to the vision screenings, hearing assessments may be performed to ensure children hear different sounds properly. Some children who are unable to hear certain noises may need to have further testing performed to diagnose any acquired hearing loss.
Some children may also need to get ear tubes inserted in their ears as a result of having too many ear infections. Chronic ear infections could be the initial cause of the acquired hearing loss in many children.
If serious ear infections are not the cause of the hearing loss, children may then need a hearing aid. The hearing aid is an adjustable device used to amplify all kinds of noises so that the person who is wearing it can hear sounds clearly.
3. Discuss Any Important Medical Concerns
In addition to getting immunizations for your children and having their hearing and vision tested regularly, the well-child exams give you an opportunity to discuss some of the important medical concerns you may have when it comes to your children.
For example, if one of your children suffers from severe constipation, you may want to talk about this problem and find out what you can do to help your child out. A number of recommendations may be made to ease the constipation, such as eating more fibrous foods or even taking fiber supplements that help to soften the stool.
Aside from concerns about constipation, you may want to discuss concerns you have about a child's behavior, his or her inability to reach milestones or even noticeable speech delays.
When you take your children for regular well-child exams, you do the best you can to keep them healthy. The Hot Springs Pediatric Clinic is there to help you keep your little ones up to date with their immunizations while discussing any medical concerns and making sure the children are all reaching age-appropriate milestones.
If your children have not received a well-child exam for quite some time, it is never too late to bring them into the office for a routine visit.
Pediatric asthma affects millions of children in the United States, causing respiratory symptoms, such as wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath. These symptoms generally occur from airways becoming inflamed and obstructed. If you have a child who has been diagnosed with asthma, you will want to do everything right to reduce the risk of flare-ups
and complications.
To help you further manage your child's asthma effectively, consider the following dos and don'ts.
DO Have Your Child's Pediatrician Draw Up a Management Plan
It is really quite simple: your child's pediatrician will give you a sheet of paper with easy-to-follow instructions for managing pediatric asthma. It may list the medications your child needs to take to control asthma symptoms and prevent a flare-up from occurring. Parents should make sure the child takes his or her medication faithfully as directed. This plan may also list emergency contact number for off-hours medical care.
DON'T Forget to Have Quick Relief Supplies Available for an Emergency
In the event of an asthma attack, your child will need quick treatment. Supplies should be readily available at all times. These may include a bronchodilator used to open up the airways, which may be in tablet or liquid form, as well as an inhaler or nebulizer which uses compressed air. Your child's doctor can recommend the most effective supplies for treatment.
DO Start a Health Journal for Your Child
It is important to document any episodes or issues your child has pertaining to his or her condition, and keeping a journal is a great way to do this. Write down times and dates of when your child experienced an asthma attack or respiratory symptoms. You can also record the dates of the good days when your child appears to be asthma-free.
Did your child's asthma symptoms occur soon after participating in a sports-related activity or exercise? Were allergy symptoms acting up prior to the asthmatic episode? Knowing what triggers your child's asthma symptoms will help you avoid them in the future.
DON'T Use Carpeting and Fabric Draperies
This may sound like an odd measure to take for controlling your child's asthma, but it does make sense. If you currently have carpeting in your home, dust, pet dander and other irritants may become trapped and aggravate your child's respiratory symptoms. If your child has been struggling with this condition, an effective solution would be to replace the rugs and carpets with wood flooring. Tile or laminate would work as well, as all of these materials are easy to keep clean and won't be as likely to harbor as much dirt and irritants.
As for the window treatments, if you currently have draperies or curtains in your child's bedroom, it may be best to replace them with shades or blinds rather than fabrics that accumulate and trap dust. If you must keep the drapes or curtains, be sure to take them down frequently to wash or dry-clean them.
DO Use Air Purifiers and HEPA Filtration Systems in Your Home
Keeping the air clean in your home, especially in your child's bedroom, may help keep asthma symptoms at bay. An air purifier machine will help trap and reduce dust particles, smoke, pet dander, pollen and other irritants that may trigger an asthma attack. Choose a system with multiple settings and at least two speeds, and be sure to change the filter regularly.
Also, vacuum frequently with a machine that uses a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration system. The HEPA filter will trap irritants and dust, but it must be maintained and cleaned regularly. Many modern vacuum cleaners utilize the HEPA system, so you should not have a difficult time finding one at your local department store or home improvement center.
All of the above measures can help keep your child's symptoms under control. In addition, don't forget to inform your child's teachers and school of his or her condition. The school should be given an action plan in the event of an emergency.
Most mature adults who get the flu recover rather quickly with no complications. Young children, however, are at an increased risk of complications from the flu. Some develop serious ailments like myocarditis (inflammation of the heart), kidney failure, or pneumonia following a bout of influenza. So, as a parent, it's important that you do all you can to protect your child from the flu virus. Here are four key strategies to follow.
Get the Flu Shot
The best way to protect your child from the flu is with the flu vaccine. The CDC advises that parents have children vaccinated for the flu every year once they reach 6 months of age. Each year's flu shot is different; it contains the strains of the flu that are most common that year. So, a new shot is needed each year for continued protection.
Children under age 9 who are getting their first flu vaccine need to have two doses spaced four weeks apart. The next year your child receives the vaccine, and every year after that, they should only need one shot.
Flu vaccines are available at many pharmacies and at your pediatrician's office. Though some parents have concerns about the safety of flu vaccines, these shots have been carefully studied. Serious side effects are very rare, though some children do develop minor side effects like a low-grade fever and swelling at the injection site. This is better than the alternative: the potential for life-threatening pneumonia and other flu complications.
In order to protect your child from the flu, you should also get your flu vaccine. This helps keep you from contracting the virus and then passing it on to your child.
Practice Good Hygiene at Home
Since the flu vaccine is not 100% effective, you'll still want to take other measures to protect your child from the virus. Wash your hands often, and encourage your child to do the same. If they have trouble washing their own hands thoroughly, help them do so. If you sneeze or cough, cover your mouth—and then wash your hands to remove any germs.
The flu virus can survive on hard surfaces for up to 24 hours. This means that if you have the flu and sneeze onto a table, your child may become infected if they touch the table and then touch their nose. Make sure you regularly wipe down your tables and hard surfaces with disinfectant spray, especially if someone in your home is feeling ill.
Encourage Healthy Sleep and Eating Habits
If your child has a strong immune system, their body may be able to fight off the flu virus before symptoms develop. One of the best ways to keep your child's immune system healthy is to make sure they get plenty of sleep. Toddlers (ages 1–2) need 11 to 14 hours of sleep per night. Preschoolers (ages 3–5) need 10 to 13 hours of sleep, and school-aged children (ages 6–13) need 9 to 11 hours.
A healthy diet also helps boost the immune system. Make sure your children are eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables so that their vitamin and mineral needs are met. Talk to your pediatrician about giving them a multivitamin supplement, especially during flu season—which lasts from October through May.
Avoid Large Crowds When Possible
You don't have to sequester your kids at home, but do make an effort to avoid areas where there are large crowds whenever possible during flu season. For instance, you may want to opt for a small ice skating venue rather than a large one where you know there will be 1,000 people. The flu spreads easily in public places, and the more time your child spends in crowds, the more likely they are to become ill.
Nobody enjoys getting the flu, but for young children, the flu can be more than an annoyance. Follow the tips above to protect your child, and talk to your pediatrician to learn more about flu prevention.
- Remove household items that hold dust from bedrooms
- Avoid smoking areas
- Use fragrance-free chemicals and cleaners
- Pay attention to air quality
- Keep asthma medication readily available
Create an atmosphere where your child can breathe fresh air and live stress free. In case of an emergency, always contact 911.
In other cases, contact
Hot Springs Pediatric Clinic PA today to schedule an appointment for your child at 501-321-1314.
Taking care of children's health is just one of the many jobs parents must do. While many of us take our children to the doctor when they are ill, we may not be quite as diligent when it comes to well-child exams. These annual doctor visits should be a priority, however, because they give parents an opportunity to monitor and even influence their children's overall health. Here are a few reasons why you should keep your child up-to-date with an annual exam.
Making Progress
A well-child visit tracks yourchildren'sgrowth and developmental milestones. It is also an opportunity for you and yourchildren'sdoctor to evaluate any physical, emotional and behavioral well-being.
Fight Back
One of the greatest tools medical professionals have against childhood diseases is immunizations. These vaccines that can reduce yourchildren'srisk of certain illnesses are administered at well exams.
Behind the Screen
During a well visit, your child may have their vision and hearing screened to make sure they have no unidentified issues. The pediatrician should also evaluate their skeletal system to determine if there are any concerns.
Preventive Care
Healthy habits start at an early age, and when parents stress the importance of monitoring health, they are giving their children a foundation for a lifetime of healthy living.
Well-child visits should be performed more frequently in infancy and once a year from early childhood until the mid-to-late teens. If you would like to know more about these or other pediatric visits , please call Hot Springs Pediatric Clinic, P.A. to make an appointment.